Potrero View 2021: January

Food Bank Emerges as Key Service During Pandemic

BY ZOE TRIBUR

Even before emergence of the novel coronavirus, San Francisco faced a hunger crisis, with one out of five residents at risk of being unable to afford a nutritious meal. Since March 16th, 2020—when shelter-in-place orders were first issued – that risk became a reality for many families.

According to the San FranciscoMarin Food Bank’s Keely Hopkins, 55,000 households—48,500 in San Francisco—rely on Food Bank programs weekly, roughly double preCOVID levels. The SF-Marin Food Bank distributed 40 million pounds of food monthly in 2019, compared to 60 million pounds today.

According to Katy Mann McKnight, SFMFB’s Director of Community Engagement for San Francisco, “most of the additional participants we are serving have never needed food assistance before.”

Many of the newly needy previously worked in the hospitality and food service industries. They’ll likely depend on the Food Bank for some time. It took California years to recover from the 2008 Recession. The pandemic’s impacts could reverberant even longer; it may take a decade before household income returns to previous levels for many Americans.

“It takes a really long time for hunger levels to go down,” said Lauren Lathan Reid, Director of Communications for the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB). “It’s not going to be over anytime soon.”

“For our food banks or for any of the people that rely on them. It’s going to be a long haul,” McKnight said. “We know that those we are serving are going to be the last to benefit when the economy begins to rebound, postpandemic. And we’re starting to see an uptick in registrations right now, and we’re not sure if it is a one-time increase or if the new shelter-in-place is driving it.”

In the United States it’s rare to see people who are severely underweight as a result of poor food access. Instead, food insecurity takes the form of skipped meals and substitutions of healthier, but more expensive or perishable items like fresh produce,

FOOD BANK continues on page 14

Alliance Collaborates to Support Bayview-Hunters Point Residents

BY JESSICA ZIMMER

Every two months, an informal group of individuals, public servants, and community-based organization (CBO) representatives gather to discuss issues that impact Bayview-Hunters Point residents. The relationships developed through Bayview Alliance meetings helps participants address such challenges as fostering art, educational disparities, housing and food insecurity, economic and employment inequities, access to parks, environmental education, and environmental quality.

Bayview Alliance was formed

in 2010 by Roselyne “Cissie” Swig, a community activist and philanthropist. Swig enlisted John Boland, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of KQED, who has since retired from the station, Charles “Chuck” Collins, San Francisco YMCA president emeritus, Gina Fromer, CEO of San Francisco Education Fund, which supports public school students, and now District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton in early efforts.

Meetings were initially held at KQED headquarters in Mishpot. When the public media station broke ground

ALLIANCE continues on page 13

Six Renovation Plans Floated for Esprit Park

IMAGE:

BY DANIEL IDZIAK

Esprit Park will be renovated in the “second half of 2022,” closed to the public for “about a year” during construction, said San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department’s (Rec-Park) Alexis Ward at a December online community meeting, which drew 84 participants.

The Department wants public input on which of six design options – ‘U’, ‘V’, ‘W’, ‘X’, ‘Y’, ‘Z’ – should be adopted. The plans reflect distinct schemes; offer one meadow, as is presently the case, or two; and attempt to separate dogs from people, or not.

Under ‘U’, ‘V’, ‘W’, and ‘X’ the twoacre site would be divided into North and South meadows, with a figure-8 trail traversing the park. Plans ‘U’, ‘V’, and ‘W’ designate the South meadow for families, or people, with dogs

prohibited in the area, though leashed dogs would be allowed on the perimeter and through-park trails. Plans ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ retain the existing communicating meadow. All plans except ‘U’ would segregate a portion of the park for off-leash dogs.

Ward indicated that final plans would be shared with the public “early next year [2021].”

According to Rec-Park’s website, renovation goals, shared by all six plans, are to “Refresh the park after almost 40 years of use, make the park more durable and resilient to withstand increased use, retain the park’s natural design and feel, make the park more usable for a wider variety of activities, and meet current codes and regulations.”

Though dogs are frequently ob -

The number of households reliant on weekly Food Bank programs has doubled from pre-COVID levels.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Keely Hopkins, San Francissco-Marin Food Bank

PUBLISHER’S VIEW

New Year: 2040

BY STEVEN J. MOSS

Twenty years in the future, 2040

“So, Grandpa, what was it like during the pandemonium?”

“That’s pandemic, sweetie.” Robert squinted into the iAir; his eight-year old granddaughter’s face pixilated into a rectangle, then a triangle, until finally settling back into being recognizably Mona. “How’re things on Mars?”

“Good! Wanna see?” the view into the iAir spun past a pile of oddly shaped stuffed animals to an expansive window, refocusing on a fiery landscape. “We can’t go outside, cause of the fire storms, just like during the panda… thing”

“Uh huh.” Robert smiled, wondering for the millionth time why his daughter and her two life partners

moved to Mars with his only granddaughter. Sure, every immigrant got a new Tesla-copter. But it was almost always too hot outside to fly it. “So, Mona, your mom told me you’re doing a report on the Great 2020 Pandemic.”

“Yes,” Mona said, looking serious. “We could choose that, or the Trumpian Wars or something called the Climate Catastrophe, which sounded dumb, or the Period of New Beginnings, which mom said sounded like a female high genie product, which would’ve been cool, but mom was wrong,” Mona threw down her hands dramatically. “I choosed the pandermis.”

Robert tried not to grimace. “Kind

PUBLISHER’S VIEW continues on page 15

Mission Bay School Designed

San Francisco Unified School District staff presented design details for the Mission Bay elementary school and Linked Learning Hub planned for Block 14 to the Mission Bay Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) at a virtual meeting in December. The design was enthusiastically received by CAC members, and prompted remarks that school construction is keenly anticipated by Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, South-of-Market, and Mission Bay residents. After the meeting, staff confirmed title transfer from the University of California, San Francisco, Block 14’s owner, had been completed. During public comment, Bruce Agid , a Mission Bay resident who leads an informal neighborhood steering committee advocating for the school, said that based on correspondence with SFUSD staff the project appears to be on track for a fall 2025 opening…Building statistics SFUSD staff provided indicate that rather than “approximately 80 feet” as The View reported last month, height will be 67 feet for the main wing along Owens Street, and 30 feet for the support services wing that’ll extend along Nelson Rising Lane. The building’s

footprint will be 105,700 gross square feet. Design specifics are subject to change. Block 14 is bounded by Owens Street to the west, Nelson Rising Lane to the south, Mission Bay Boulevard South to the north, and Sixth Street to the east.

Amazon Isn’t Just a River in South America

Last month, Recology sold its 900 Seventh Street waste maintenance facility to Amazon for $200 million, to be developed into a six-acre distribution facility. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there’s already “more high-paying Amazon jobs than anywhere besides Seattle” in the Bay Area, with 7,000 office workers in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and East Palo Alto, and leagues of delivery and warehouse workers. Amazon owns San Francisco-based streaming/gamer thingy Twitch, which has 1,500 employees. Amazon’s plan will no doubt be resisted by Mission Bay residents concerned about increased truck traffic, amongst other issues. It’s prompted immediate chatter, along the lines of the site changing from waste disposal to waste generation.

Supportive Housing for Formerly Homeless Being Constructed at China Basin

BY BETTINA COHEN

Community Housing Partnerships (CHP) and Bridge Housing Corporation broke ground last fall at Mission Bay South Block 9, also known as 410 China Basin. The 92,000 square foot, fourstory structure featuring 141 modular affordable rental studios for formerly homeless individuals, along with onsite supportive services, is expected to welcome inhabitants as early as January 2022. The Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) selected the two nonprofits to develop the project in 2017.

“This was an important and desirable site to provide homes for folks in a wonderful neighborhood,” said Rick Aubry, CHP’s chief executive officer. “The City urged that there be a joint venture on it. Bridge, which is a very large nonprofit housing developer, has expertise in getting a project off the ground. CHP has expertise in providing supportive services to the building. For this project, Bridge claims the lead role in the early stages, and CHP will be taking the lead once the building is completed, in management and services at the site.”

Cahill Contractors is overseeing construction. The first floor will be built onsite; living spaces are being fabricated elsewhere.

Factory OS, a Vallejo company pioneering low-cost modular multiunit home construction, is manufacturing the studio apartments. Under the innovative method, modular units for

levels two through four will be brought to the site, with cranes attaching them to the building, in April and May. Framing will be done in June, roofing in July, the exterior skin completed in November. The structure will rise 54 feet, eight inches.

The design is U-shaped, with wings that wrap around a landscaped courtyard. The central wing will run along the parcel’s western side, directly behind the Public Safety Building that fronts Third Street. Perpendicular wings will extend along China Basin and Mission Rock streets. The U’s open end will offer public access to a community garden from what’s now an unfinished portion of Bridgeview Way, which’ll become a pedestrian path along the eastern boundary. A community garden, to be cultivated by Mission Bay Development Group, will be installed in December 2021.

“Everyone will have their own apartment. Their own door, their own key. Their own full bathroom, their own closet, kitchenette,” Aubry said.

A shared laundry room, resident lounge, courtyard with seating, fitness trail and dog run will be included. A community kitchen will provide tenants access to a large, prep style galley and post-public health crisis opportunities to participate in nutrition classes.

Eligibility for the studios is based on a person’s needs as determined by San Francisco’s Adult Coordinated Entry system, with a maximum income of 50 percent of Area Median Income

(AMI). Currently, 50 percent of AMI for San Francisco is $44,850 for one person, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Residents will likely have incomes below 20 percent AMI and pay 30 percent of their income towards rent.

“Thirty percent of your income is what drives it,” Aubry said. “A typical person who’s living there is on some form of Social Security or Social Security Disability. That’s roughly $1,100 or $1,200 per month, so 30 percent is somewhere in the neighborhood of $350 per month. It could be only $200 per month. Potentially, were somebody to be living with us and have 50 percent of AMI, it would mean $900 to $1,000, but that would be the exception, not the rule.”

Under the Mission Bay South Master Plan, 1,806 housing units, or roughly 28 percent of the total 6,404 homes, are supposed to be affordable to moderate, low, and very low-income households. Project financing for 410 China Basin includes four percent tax credits/bond funding, competitive state credits, and a OCII loan.

The cost to build each unit is estimated at $385,000, compared to a roughly $525,000 average expense for conventional construction. Workers at 410 China Basin include members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 22, headquartered at 2085 Third Street; Factory OS workers in Vallejo are represented under a contract with the union’s regional board. A November San

Francisco Chronicle article reported that Factory OS laborers earn between $50,000 and $60,000, significantly less than the average $108,000 annual paycheck for union carpenters in the City.

“We have approximately 500 union members working in Factory OS,” said Jay Bradshaw, executive director of the Carpenters 46 Northern California Counties Conference Board, which organized the workers, and is “very involved and proactive on recruitment of women, people of color, and people who need a second chance.”

Lower per-unit costs have “created more work opportunity because it’s made a lot of projects viable that might not have been viable due to the costs. A plot of land that should get built that doesn’t get built doesn’t create opportunities for anybody,” Bradshaw said. “We’ve always taken a proactive approach to evolution in technology and delivery system in industry, not to fight it, but to organize it to stay viable in order to grow. Our membership has been very supportive” of organizing Factory OS workers.

“That was an important feature for us; good union work in terms of the quality and union wages,” Aubry said.

Project completion is typically 40 percent faster using the Factory OS system, Bradshaw said, which gets people housed more rapidly.

“Our main mission is to create good middle class union jobs,” Bradshaw said. “We see the production of afford-

CHINA

Fourth Street Bridge to Close to Northbound Traffic

BY BETTINA COHEN

As the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) prepares for the return of T-Third Street Muni Metro service, the agency plans to implement temporary emergency transit lanes in both directions over the Fourth Street Bridge this month. The idea, which drew a barrage of public comment from an estimated 60 attendees of a virtual community meeting SFTMA hosted in December, would address a bottleneck between Berry and Channel streets that causes systemwide delays to T-Third service by enabling streetcars to move across the bridge without getting stuck in traffic. SFMTA identified public health, equity and

economic recovery as other reasons for the emergency transit lanes; more efficient transit reduces COVID-19 transmission risks for people with the fewest travel choices.

General traffic would no longer be permitted northbound between Berry and Channel streets. The single northbound lane now shared by streetcars and other vehicles would be repurposed for transit and taxis only, with bicycles and paratransit vehicles permitted. Going south, the middle lane with streetcar tracks would be dedicated to transit and taxis.

The southbound curbside lane would remain open for general traffic.

Additional restrictions would include no left turn onto the bridge whilst heading east; no right turn onto the bridge westward bound from Channel Street; no left turn onto Berry from Fourth Street, including by southbound traffic onto the one-way 100 block of Berry Street. Northbound traffic on Fourth Street would be rerouted onto eastbound or westbound Channel Street.

On the Fourth Street Bridge, the temporary emergency transit lane

would be striped with white paint and “Muni/Taxi Only” stenciling and signage. Nearby routes for general traffic heading north from Mission Bay towards South-of-Market include Third and Seventh streets. No changes to the Third Street Bridge two-way traffic are planned.

Public reaction ranged from supportive to skeptical. San Francisco Transit Riders Union members strongly favored the plan. Mission Bay residents and those who work in the area suggested that the plan would trigger vastly increased traffic congestion from Channel Street to the Mission Bay Drive traffic circle, back onto Berry Street at the Caltrain crossing. It’d make the 100 block of Berry – where there are residential buildings and patients need access to University of California, San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, a China Basin building tenant – inaccessible. Several speakers suggested converting the one-way block of Berry between Third and Fourth streets into a two-way street.

One Mission Bay residents pointed out that driving to South-of-Market or the Financial District would require a circuitous route to head north, unable to turn left out of their driveway onto Channel Street and travel to Third Street because a cement curb prevents vehicles from crossing the streetcar tracks, forcing them onto Fourth Street. They’d then have to turn southbound onto Fourth Street, left at Mission Rock Street, and left again before heading north over the Third

Street Bridge.

Replying to The View, SFTMA’s media relations staff stated that the No Left Turn from southbound Fourth Street onto the 100 block of Berry is a “delay reduction measure.” Vehicles turning left at this location must cross the T-Third tracks, which can postpone trains. The agency is analyzing alternatives to allowing vehicles onto the 100 block of Berry, as well as whether changes could be made to Mission Bay Drive at the Caltrain tracks, where residents have requested a Right Turn Only lane onto Berry.  Traffic rerouting would include posting new signs to help drivers understand the changes and choose directions; sign plan specifics weren’t available at press time.

The SFMTA Board of Directors is expected to approve the project as a temporary measure to begin as early as January 2021. The emergency transit lane would be removed within 120 days after the City’s emergency health order is lifted unless there’s a public process to make them permanent.

MAKE YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

to the View through SF Community Power; consider including your favorite newspaper in your trust.

Correspondence to:

296 Liberty Street, San Francisco 94114

Life has changed dramatically this year and real estate is no exception. In response to the COVID pandemic, homes can only be shown by appointment. Nonetheless, demand for single family homes has remained healthy as buyers seek larger spaces for working and schooling at home.

Potrero Hill Homes Sold in 2020*

Manwaring Letters Erased, But Not Forgotten

BY SEAN KARLIN

The excavator’s articulated yellow boom-arm rose slowly, hoisting the six-foot tall letter ‘n’ off the flatbed trailer into the air, a thick strap shackled to a threaded steel eyelet. The hole had been bored into the top of the concrete letter more than 40 years ago; it could no longer bear its own weight for long. When the excavator cab swiveled just a tad too quickly, the suspended ‘n’ sailed out in a wide arc. The eyelet tore loose; the one-ton letter plunged with a ‘thud’ in the soft dirt, tumbling forward into a shallow ditch next to a capital ‘B’ and lowercase ‘d.’ A worker – protected only by a white plastic helmet, N9 facemask, and yellow reflective vest – leapt back as the letter dropped at his feet. He cautiously eyed the damage.

“It’s fine,” he shouted. “No cracks.”

There were more concrete letters written across a grassy berm along Third Street, which altogether had once spelt “India Basin Industrial Park.” By the end of the day all would be removed.

The concrete slabs were created by San Francisco artist and designer Michael Manwaring, erected in Bayview in 1978. They were swept away as part of demolition of the India Basin Industrial Park to accommodate a new Southeast Community Center. The Center, which had been on Oakdale Avenue, had to be relocated to make way for an expanded wastewater treatment plant. It moved to a centrally located, five-acre parcel less than a mile away,

across from the Bayview Shopping Plaza and a T-Line rail stop.

Manwaring’s letters, reflective of the 1970’s “Supergraphic Movement” – sparked in Northern California by the large graphics Bay Area designer Barbara Stauffacher Solomon created for Sea Ranch’s athletic center, a bigness and boldness that neatly fit that decade’s exuberance and design excesses – may be lost forever.

Manwaring grew up near Stanford University, where his father taught. Art wasn’t encouraged at home; he expressed his creative talents on his high school classmate’s car, painting stripes and jagged flames.

“My friend and I were cruising around San Bruno and I saw people turn and stare as we drove past,” Manwaring remembered. “So, I told my friend to let me out so I could watch him drive up and down the street. I wanted to feel the effect of my design on the viewer. It was my first encounter with the idea of public art.”

Manwaring’s father declined to pay for art school. Manwaring took a job driving a delivery truck in Palo Alto. Fearing his son would never receive a post-high school education, his dad relented. In 1961, Michael was accepted into the San Francisco Art Institute’s graphic design department.

“Graphic design was looked down on by most of the other art students,” Manwaring said. “It was considered too commercial. I was pretty disappointed in my choice and considered leaving.”

In his second semester a new

teacher, Jim Robertson, head of a San Francisco design firm, took over Manwaring’s class. Robertson looked at the students’ first semester work and declared it “a pile of crap.” In what became a pivotal moment in Manwaring’s life, he stood up to the teacher, asserting that design wasn’t real art anyhow. Robertson countered by challenging Manwaring to examine the works of European designers, among them Swiss creator Josef MullerBrockmann. Manwaring discovered what’s known as the ‘Beethoven poster,’ the Muller-Brockmann piece from 1955 that changed perceptions of modern design. Manwaring learned that stripped of text and advertising elements, great design could be great art.

“It was so free and beautiful,” Manwaring said. “Better than any painting I had seen at the Institute.”

“Butchertown,” as Bayview was once known, was a center of industrial activity during World War II, a destination for the Great Migration, a movement that brought African American families from the American South to work in militarized factories and shipyards. Bayview became an economic powerhouse, a cultural center of the Black community, with wartime jobs offering living wages to skilled and unskilled workers.

Within a generation of the war’s end, however, many manufacturing jobs followed returning White general infantrymen to the suburbs. ‘White flight’ meant a loss of jobs, and a barrage of racially segregated fiscal and civic policies, leaving behind economic devastation and urban decay.

In 1965, the mood in Hunters Point was tense. Following the killing of 16-year-old Matthew Johnson by a police officer, the community exploded into what became four days of protest and violence. The National Guard patrolled the streets. Local resistance was hardly unique; from Baltimore to Chicago, New York to Los Angeles, Black communities that’d been left behind in the economic boom that followed the War made their indignation known.

The uprising signaled to the City’s Board of Supervisors that with impending closure of the Hunters Point Naval shipyard, and without new job opportunities directed at BayviewHunters Point, poverty and unrest would continue to plague the community. On January 20, 1969, the City adopted a redevelopment plan for Hunters Point which included the India Basin Industrial Park, a manufacturing and training center that was intended to bring jobs, educational opportunities, and a revitalized economy back to the neighborhood.

In 1976 Bob Le Rocca’s landscaping business was hired by the City to design the industrial park’s surrounding scenery. With a meager budget, he begged Manwaring to create a modest sign to mark India Basin’s entrance.

“I think that $2,500 was for the design and the production,” Manwaring said. “Bob had already been turned down by everyone, but I had just launched my own design business and I needed to get busy, so I took it.”

Manwaring sketched a few ideas. Everything he came up with felt wrong for the wide-open space. Then he remembered the advice he’d gotten from Staufacher Solomon; if something wasn’t working it probably wasn’t big enough. The scale grew, emerging as a six-by-four-by-four concrete sculpture made of 24 letters, a Supergraphics sign.

“I chose to work in Helvetica font,” Manwaring said. “Today that seems obvious, but at the time Helvetica was revolutionary. It was the most important font ever created. The lowercase letters are beautiful, and elegantly support the capitals.”

Manwaring used a combination of capitals and lowercase; he felt a row of capital letters standing between the street and industrial park would overwhelm the viewer, like a wall, unwelcoming.

Once the style and scale had been established, Manwaring made another big decision; to make each letter

MANWARING continues on next page

projects. That was what I wanted this sign to be, public art.”

thanks to the efforts of Emily RogersPharr, the Center’s new director.

“Every brick in Bayview has a history to someone,” Rogers-Pharr said. “We did not want to move forward with our project until we had reached out to all community members.”

Residents asked the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department to

relocate the letters, at least some of them, to India Basin Park, just a mile away, so far with no response. BUILD SF has agreed to store the letters on its land, with no promises to integrate them into the new 1,500-unit residential complex its constructing along the waterfront.

The de Young Revisited

BY MAX BLUE

The M.H. de Young Museum is likely to open to the public later this month, with a limited number of visitors able to tour the institution by purchasing tickets in advance for timed entry. In addition to the permanent collection, three special exhibitions are on view.

a free-standing, three-dimensional, sculpture.

Robert Indiana had experimented with text as art in his famous 1970 sculpture that depicts the word ‘LOVE.’ Manwaring incorporated the idea of large three-dimensional letters being used, but in this case in a practical application. Combining creativity into an applied form has informed much of Manwaring’s design work for more than three decades.

“In America we find that art displayed in public spaces is usually advertising,” Manwaring said. “Cities in Europe have a long history of incorporating art and design into public

Le Rocca loved it so much he convinced the City’s project managers to increase the budget to accommodate a more expensive gateway design, adding a 700 foot berm, or mound, running the length of the property, covering it with grass and trees to frame the letters. The much larger, more prominent design was more than sign; it defined the entrance to India Basin for years to come.

Now the land has been leveled. The skeletal structure for the new Southeast Community Center has been erected. The Manwaring letters, at one point slated to be demolished, are being stored in a pit on the edge of the property

Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving, originally slated for March, features Kahlo’s outfits and personal belongings, many never before exhibited, alongside the artist’s lesser-known works. Kahlo’s clothes and personal life are displayed alongside three plaster corsets she had molded to her body and then painted in 1941, 1944, and 1950. Emblazoned with Communist political imagery, internal organs, and a developing fetus, these hybrid bodysuit/paintings are a concise example of Kahlo’s exploration of identity through self-portraiture. Family photographs of the young Kahlo offer views of the artist from outside her own imagination.

Uncanny Valley is a deep dive into questions around art and technology, examining the distinctions between human and artificial intelligence. Many of the pieces are grand in scope and scale. The pinnacle is Aidol, 2019, an eighty-three-minute digitally animated film by Lawrence Lek about a weather satellite that comes down to earth in hopes of becoming the first robot artist. Lek uses a deluge of stunning visuals to draw viewers into a science-fiction narrative that provokes questions of artistic license and the authenticity of human expression. Like Aidol , most Uncanny Valley pieces

critique technology while deploying it in the artistic process, complicating the endeavor with a layer of complicity.

The de Young Open features 877 artworks culled from submissions from Bay Area artists. Many of the pieces represent recognizable locales, elucidating a sense of community and the pangs of shelter-in-place estrangement.

Landscape paintings by Kanna Aoki and Leslie Allen offer San Francisco skylines and coastal vistas, respectively, while Ric Ambrose and Eric McCracken draw scenes set inside Muni cars. Another now-familiar sight proliferates in the work of multiple artists: portraits of locals wearing face masks and tee-shirts emblazoned with political slogans such as “Black Lives Matter.” Judith E Ganz’s photograph SAFE, 2020, shows a conspicuously unmasked man walking beneath the marquis of the Fox Theatre in Oakland, which reads: STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY! BACK SOON! Open displays a community marked by the pandemic, political unrest, and strong creative passion.

Posters near the museum’s entrance remind visitors that the risk of contracting COVID-19 “is much higher indoors,” and outline City-mandated facial covering and physical distancing guidelines.

Frida Kahlo and Uncanny Valley are in-person only exhibits. Open is available online. While the exhibition isn’t as breathtaking on a computer screen, remote viewing might be the safest way to see the best work currently featured at the museum.

IS OPEN ON THE HILL! PO'BOYS KITCHEN IS NOW OPEN IN POTRERO HILL, SERVING HOMEMADE STYLE SOUTHERN FOOD WITH UNIQUE TOUCH. STOP BY FOR A DELICIOUS CRUNCHY SOUTHERN BITE !

MANWARING from previous page

Michael Manwaring designed this sign marking the entrance of India Basin Industrial Park. PHOTO: Sean Karlin

COMMUNITY |

Virtual / Anytime

Travel: Train Rides Around the World

Journey by train virtually on scenic rides through Asia, Europe, Peru, and the United States https://bit. ly/2WH45Ng

Virtual / Anytime

Games: Online Jigsaw Puzzles

Finished all the puzzles in the house? Visit jigsawplanet.com to choose puzzles with from four to 300 pieces. Explore the site for the most played or most recently created puzzles or create your own. Free. https://www. jigsawplanet.com/

Virtual / Anytime

Travel: Virtual Yosemite

Explore more than 220 locations within and around Yosemite National Park with Virtual Yosemite, an indepth online virtual tour enhanced by sound. Viewers can look up, down, 360-degrees around, and zoom in and out to see details or wider views. Free. https://www.virtualyosemite.org/

Virtual

Tues 1/19

Analysis: “Comedy vs. The Apocalypse”

Nowadays our inboxes are filled with memes, cartoons and COVID- 19 jokes. Even though each can be a reminder of a horrific situation, we laugh. Why? Because we have to; laughter is as necessary to humankind as food. It reminds us that we can still feel joy. In “Comedy vs. The Apocalypse,” David Misch — author, playwright, songwriter, and more — looks at how comedy fights tragedy with a different kind of distancing: lightening frightening things by making them seem ridiculous. Free. 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Meeting via Zoom. For more

JANUARY

information and to register: https:// bit.ly/3rohrfJ. Hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University; an OLLI account must be established to register for the session: https://bit. ly/2KpynBi

Online Thurs 1/14 and Thurs 1/21

Theater: “Citizen”

Word for Word brings theatrically performed works of literature to a new podcast series, Word for Wordcast “Citizen,” by Greg Sarris, tells the tale of Salvador, born in the U.S., but raised in Mexico, son of an American mother and Mexican father. He’s returned to the U.S. to find his mother, or rather her grave. In the process, he discovers his true identity and what it means to belong. “Citizen” is presented in two parts. For more information and how to listen: http://www.zspace.org/pod

Virtual Fri 1/15

Film: Some Kind of Heaven

This documentary film follows two elderly individuals and a couple as they negotiate late-in-life quests for love, lifestyle, meaning and stability. The protagonists grapple with these challenges in the context of The Villages, a retirement community in Central Florida. Although the film doesn’t delve deeply enough into either its featured personalities or their intriguing setting, it offers compelling snapshots of the struggles

many of us will encounter as we round the corner towards death’s door. It’s worth watching. Available on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and other streaming services.

Virtual

Mon 1/25 through Fri 3/5

Education: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Art theft and western culture; African Americans in film over the past 100 years; write your travel memoir, or flash fiction; learn about Nancy Pelosi, global feminism, black holes, and much more, presented by OLLI at San Francisco State University. Winter Session courses are open for registration. Classes begin January 25 and will meet via Zoom Conference. For more information about OLLI’s classes, free lectures, interest groups –like Spanish and French conversation, share-a-book, share-a-film – and how to register: https://olli.sfsu.edu/

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT by Judy Goddess

Education

The Aging Mastery Program is a free 10-session curriculum that “encourages participants to develop their own playbook for aging well via actionable goals, sustainable behaviors, social engagement, and gratitude.”

Developed by the National Council on Aging, presented in San Francisco by On Lok Senior Services, the course focuses on “modest lifestyle changes that can produce big results,” said Valorie Villela, program facilitator. For more information contact Villela at 415.439.9364 or valorie@onlok.org.

Food

The San Francisco Marin Food bank is expanding its Pantry at Home Program. Volunteers pack a bag of food at the Food Bank and deliver it weekly. Those eligible for groceries include San Francisco residents, 65 years or older OR have an underlying health condition that increases the potential for COVID-19 complications OR have difficulty attending a food pantry due to a physical or cognitive disability. Call the Food Bank hotline: 628.272.8430.

On Lok Mission 30th Street Senior Center has expanded its meal delivery program. Meals meet the nutritional needs of older adults; modified meals for seniors with doctor-prescribed dietary restrictions are available. Menus reflect a variety of food traditions, including Latin American, Asian, vegetarian, and American cuisine. Contact On Lok for more information: 415.550.2226.

Lodging

Home Match pairs homeowners with home seekers. A Home Match could be ideal for people who wish to age-in-place and are looking for a roommate to help with household activities in exchange for reduced rent info@homematchsf.org, 415.351.1000.

Technology

Free online computer training and tech support to individuals who are 60 years or older and those living with disabilities; phone support is also available. Community Living Campaign, 415.821.1003 or https:// sfcommunityliving.org/learn-skills/ computer-training/; Self-Help for the Elderly, 415.677.7529 or sfconnected@selfhelpelderly.org; the Community Tech Network, 628.200.3118, or homeconnect@ communitytechnetwork.org

Transportation

Last month, Community Living Campaign (CLC) began subsidizing the riders’ portion of the City’s Essential Trip Card, which provides Potrero Hill seniors and residents with disabilities low-cost taxi rides; $24 for $120 in rides.

“We now pay the $24 for any senior or adult with disabilities who needs a taxi to get around during the pandemic,” said CLC’s Cathy DeLuca. “The hills make it difficult for older people to get around; bus lines have been cut, and with the surge in COVID-19 cases, seniors are reluctant to take buses even when they’re available.”

When their car broke down, Anahid A. and Onyx Williams didn’t know what they’d do.

“We’re sort of homebound,” Onyx Williams said. “We need our

C��� �� ���� �� � ����������   ����� I�������� F���� C��������  ST. TERESA OF AVILA   CATHOLIC CHURCH  S����� �� ��� C���������

car for weekly big shopping trips and for occasional trips to the doctors. We can take a bus to Trader Joes, but we can’t carry those heavy groceries home.”

“We use the CLC-subsidized ETC card for the trip home. We don’t know

Green Benefit District

what we would have done without the CLC-subsidized card. We’re really very grateful,” said Anahid Wiliams, adding, “we always tip the driver.”

For information on the taxi subsidies: Cathy DeLuca 510.421.1034 or cathy@sfcommunityliving.org.

Interested in serving on the GBD board? Are you a renter within the GBD’s Potrero Hill boundaries? Or a property owner within the Dogpatch boundaries? Check the GBD website for more details on the GBD and contact Julie@ GreenBenefit with any questions. Everyone is invited to join our next online monthly board meeting at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, January 20, 2020. Information on how to participate is on the GBD website at GreenBenefit.org

Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association

Be in the know. Meet your neighbors. Make the Potrero a better place. We’re meeting virtually on the last Tuesday of each month at 7pm. Go to www. potreroboosters.org for details.

Starr King Open Space

Please join our monthly volunteer days on the second Saturday of the month from 9:30am - 12:30. This month it is January 9th.

Also, feel free to join our monthly meetings which are open to the public, done via Zoom for now, the third Monday of the month at 7pm. This month it is January 18th. Check the website for the Zoom link.

If you can, please donate to help keep Starr King Open Space open, accessible and well maintained for our neighbors. www.starrkingopenspace.org

First Saturdays in Dogpatch: A neighborhood-wide event held monthly Explore neighborhood shops, enjoy great food and drink, discover maker market at Center Hardware and 1234 Indiana Street, be inspired at gallery openings at Minnesota Street Project. All this and more when it is safe to gather again. Meantime, please visit LoveDogpatch.com

Seasonal Stroll Scavenger Hunt

Wander Potrero Hill and Dogpatch, find and scan over thirty QR-code tags to explore the funky and fabulous stories, places and history right in our own backyard.

Snap your finds and tag us @dogpatchNA & @potreroboosters

Prizes awarded for all participants at the January neighborhood association meetings -- DNA on Jan.12th and the Boosters on Jan. 26th.

scan for map

Brought to you courtesy of:

In this season of giving, I am honored to be the first recipient of the William and Trudy Drypolcher COMMUNITY SERVICE Award for Corcoran Global Living.

As co-founder of Zephyr Real Estate, Bill and his wife Trudy set the standard for philanthropy and community service. That commitment is held by Corcoran, by my long-time real estate Linda Clark , and by me Your Agent for Good

This new year comes with hope and promise ~ we already have a strong start on the Hill, and it's all about Community! I'm here as your resource, and as your Agent on the Hill. Happy New Year, and here's to 2021!

Booste

Boosters|DNA

two neighborhoods one community

Melinda Lee

Your Agent for Good. e-Pro, SRES 415.336.0754 | melinda@melindalee.realtor Lic. #01344377 | melindalee.realtor

Starr King Elementary Fourth Graders Write about Home and Identity with 826 Valencia

This academic year, 826 Valencia continued to collaborate with Starr King Elementary in Trisha Huynh’s fourth grade class online. For their first project, students wrote “I Am From” poems, reflecting the San Francisco Unified School District initiative to embrace student identity. This is the second year 826 Valencia worked with Starr King; growth in student writing is tangible. Students share about themselves, their families, favorite foods and things they love, illuminating the beauty and diversity that’s San Francisco.

I am an Independent Woman

A’NIJHA SMITH-EVANS, AGE 10

I am an independent woman, One day I’ll be as smart as my mom and dad.

I am from my baby sister.

The first time I got to hold her she was as light as a pillow.

The second time I got to feed her. When I go into the room, I see her little face and it makes me happy.

I liked when I got to see my baby brother for the first time.

He is growing up as fast as me. Because they are so little, they can get hurt and get sick easily.

I hope to graduate, go to college, get a degree, and become an independent WOMAN!

I Love My Family

KAYDEN DUCKETT, AGE 10

I am from seafood boils.

It has crab, shrimp, potatoes, corn, mussels.

This is my favorite because it’s good. My tacos, which have ground beef, green onions, tomatoes, sour cream and cheese.

My family is special to me because they are my ancestors and they made me. My friends are special to me because I play with them.

They’re cool because we do a lot of stuff together.

Some of my family is from the Philippines and some of my family is from California.

I am multicultural.

Aliyah’s Poem

ALIYAH LEWIS, AGE 9

I am from church food.

After church we all go to eat, mostly dessert food.

The food smells like a sugary goodness that any kid would want.

I am from my dog.

My purple, blue, and red unicorn plush with stars and the horn is squishy red.

I am from riding skateboards down ramps, playing games with my dad, and cooking breakfast with my sister.

We like to make eggs and waffles.

I like to read.

It makes me feel inspired.

Marseaneybo

MARSEAN ROBINSON, AGE 9

I am from Potrero Hill.

I am from Cairo, a black and white pitbull who learned how to fetch after four weeks.

I wake up bored because everybody is still sleeping.

When I am opening presents I feel happy as a dog playing.

Sometimes my mom makes cookies and dinner that smells

So good that I can’t even describe the smell.

My Lolz and My Life

NATAYA LABORIN, AGE 10

I am from my birthday because I get cake and see all the people in my family.

I get presents and get to buy clothes and Lolz dolls for myself.

I am from my dad and mom who said I am a good big sister to my newborn sister.

I have to help my sister with her work.

Maria’s Favorites

MARIA SAGAPOLU, AGE 9

My family is from Samoa, but I was born in SF.

We make cookies, gingerbread houses, we like to open presents.

Our family likes to play games; Uno, Twister, Candy Land

For birthdays, we have a lot of BBQ, egg salad, and shrimp.

My family is from all over the world.

We like to play games together like the yoga challenge.

“I am from Samoa.”

I always say, “share.”

Burger

SHATIA PEASE-FINKLEA, AGE 10

I am from burgers with ketchup and mayonnaise, but no mustard, pickles, melted cheese, and lettuce.

I am from hot sauce so hot that my cousin, a boy who loves hot sauce, put hot sauce on my taco and it was soooo hot,

I ran around the backyard trying to find some way to cool off.

I found a bucket of water, almost like a tub, and poured it all on my face.

The Best Times In My Life

KINGSTON MORRIS, AGE 10

I am from drawing.

I like to sketch a lot.

I usually use pencil, paper, and pens when I want to color it

I would use colored pencils and very very thin markers, skinny as a piece of paper.

I am from, I love you.

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays because you get to receive things, And you get to give things.

PROUD TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST CARBON-NEUTRAL HEALTH SYSTEMS IN THE U.S.

Kaiser Permanente continues its longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability and efforts to help slow climate change.

To reach this milestone we improved energy efficiency in our buildings, installed on-site solar power, purchased new renewable energy generation, and invested in carbon offsets with strong health benefits to counter unavoidable emissions. This move to carbon neutrality eliminates our annual carbon footprint and helps improve conditions for healthier communities. Learn more at: kp.org/green

Laugh Out Loud

LA DIAMOND TAYLOR-BAREFIELD, AGE 9

I am from baby doll.

It has pink hair and a gold diaper.

It’s Black like me, and it also has pink lipstick. I love pink.

I am from a notebook and my spoon, my favorite pencil and ball.

I am from singing and dancing; mostly to hip hop and slow dancing.

I like to play with my little sister sometimes.

A Hint of BBQ Sauce

MARCUS BLACKWELL, AGE 9

I came from Sacramento and my sister came from Daly City and my brother came from Brazil.

My mom says to me, “Don’t miss school or you’re not going to get a job.”

My family cares about me because I am the youngest in my family.

A food that is special to me is turkey on Thanksgiving because she adds a hint of BBQ sauce.

Happy Laura

LAURA QUIROGA, AGE 9

I am from my family, the ones I love,

The diary because my grandfather gave it to me,

The stuffed panda named Bobo (pronounced Bo Bo), Includes coding (my father is a computer programmer),

Also writing (my grandfather wrote poems before he retired in Colombia), And reading, Baking (with my mom).

I am from my parents’ voices, which say this message almost everyday:

“You’re very creative.”

“Eres tan bueno escribiendo.”

I am from me, a writer and a reader.

My Loved Ones

KALIYAH MOZEKE, AGE 9

I am from my mom who puts food on the table and clothes on my back,

My friends who always stick up for me.

I am from Christmas because of the presents.

I get to spend it with my loved ones.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day because it is traditional.

I am from puppies because they are cute and are helpful,

Toy cars, and let’s go fishing.

All About My Family

BLAKE VERDUN, AGE 10

I am from my family, My friends, like my best friends,

My mom because she cooks for me and gives me a home.

My step-dad is as caring as someone who cares for the environment.

My step-dad because he stepped up to be my dad,

My step-dad is big like a bear.

In my family, family comes first.

This means that it is really special to care about your family,

My family is as important as food.

I Like Mashed Potatoes

KAEDO VALDES, AGE 9

I am from my mom’s spaghetti.

I eat my mom’s spaghetti in the dining room.

And I like mashed potatoes.

I am from mom because she makes me food.

She makes sure I am happy and gets me clothes.

My brother, too, because he looks out for me.

When somebody is being mean to me, he tells them to stop.

My Mom’s Tamales

BYRON CORTEZ, AGE 9

I am from my mom’s tamales, Homemade spaghetti.

I am from my family.

Without family you would be alone, no fun, you will be sad.

I am from my friends,

Going to the beach and the park. We have fun inside games like Uno and Roblox.

It’s Hot and Cold Sometimes

LYRIC WHITE, AGE 9

We are from San Francisco; it’s hot and cold and sometimes fun.

My mom tells me to play with my brother.

My mom says nicely, “Lyric, will you please clean up your room?”

What I love about my family is that they are nice to me and I love them so much.

I feel happy and joyful with them.

We all have talents—my talent is dancing and doing the splits and handstands.

We’re so out of control and sometimes we love doing a lot of stuff together like art, like sewing.

Paris’s Poem

PARIS RAYNALDO, AGE 9

I am from my mom because she makes me food.

She also makes sure I have things like pants.

My sister because she loves me.

My favorite holiday is Christmas because I got a legendary and an epic Fortnite skin.

I also got a toy Hot Wheel.

Crunchy Munchy

ARMANI MOHAMED, AGE 9

I am from fried chicken as crunchy as cucumbers and Crystal Hot Sauce. I am from my mom because she brought me into the world,

My oldest brother Bubby because he is the nicest person in the world to me, and he reads a lot to me.

When he comes to my house, I sometimes cry because I’m excited to see him.

All About My Life

RAI’VYN JACKSON, AGE 10

I want to become a doctor because my mom is a doctor.

We are unique. We care for others. And we dress chic.

There is always time to have fun, even when we are doing work in the sun. I am from finishing my homework and playing with my snakes.

They feel like fish. Their bellies are really scaly.

My two snakes are very friendly. It’s very fun because I always take them wherever I go somewhere. They’re always peeking out of my backpack.

Get Involved! 826valencia.org

YOUTH CREATIVE CONTEST at THE VIEW

Hamilton Perito is six-years-old and a first grader at Daniel Webster Elementary School. He lives on Sierra Street.

CREATIVE YOUTHS! The View invites those under 18 to submit any creative work suitable for publication, including drawings, short stories (fewer than 150 words), photographs, comic strips, jokes, before the 20th of each month. Winning entries will receive a $20 prize. Please send submissions to editor@potreroview.net

“Winter Sunrise” is by 20th Street resident Anders Leung, 10, a fifth grader at Daniel Webster Elementary School. His abstract was inspired by the Hill’s pretty sunrises.

This is a photograph of a sculpture by West Raade age eight. West says “It’s the first ever bronze and silver tree. The hamster’s name is Ozzie.” West attends third grade at Sunnyside Elementary. He lives on Vermont Street.

Melody Alduy Berman, 12, attends French American international School. She first appeared in the View when she was born, July 2008.

on its new facilities in 2019, the group shifted to the San Francisco YMCA’s office on California Street. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alliance has continued to meet over Zoom.

At last month’s gathering participants included representatives from the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA), McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, California Lawyers for the Arts, San Francisco YMCA, and Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco.

According to Swig, Bayview Alliance provides a forum for people to express themselves. “When we started our mission was to listen. It was not to tell the participants what they must do but have them share their needs and their ideas with their colleagues. This strengthens the neighborhood,” said Swig.

At the December meeting Veronica Shepard, SFDPH program manager, spoke about the San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition (SFAAFBC). “When the Shelter-inPlace order hit San Francisco in March, the SFAAFBC was one of the first organizations to address food insecurity across the City. We delivered prepared meals and groceries to our most vulnerable residents impacted by COVID-19. Over 25 churches collaborated on how to provide food, health and wellness information to people in despair,” said Shepard.

“If there were a Nobel Prize for community organization, I’d give it to

liance tackled a wide array of issues. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, members chose to focus on immediate needs. The group especially wanted to support Bayview-Hunters Point residents who have become socially isolated and in dire need of resources.

Tacing Parker, Bayview Hunters Point YMCA senior executive director, said the Learning Hub sited at the facility for remote instruction was helping elementary school students stay logged on and engaging with peers. “One of the challenges is that staff are working with children they did not know before the pandemic. We’ve done a tremendous amount of work to build support, so these students and their families feel safe about the children being here,” said Parker.

Parker said the YMCA has partnered with the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families. “We are helping increase access to food, remove barriers to other types of support, such as counseling, and share information and opportunities to reduce underemployment,” said Parker.

Frederique Clermont, director of programs for Friends of the Children - SF Bay Area, which provides traumainformed, long-term mentoring to San Francisco children, explained what CBO’s like hers are doing to help students at the Hubs. “Our mentors touch base with the schools as well as staff of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco and San Francisco Parks and Rec at the Learning Hubs. Also, the schools touch base with the Hubs. Right now, COVID-19 restrictions prevent mentors

is necessary. We’re getting better at it,” said Clermont.

Julie Charles, SFMoMA’s Deborah and Kenneth Novack director of education, said the museum is creating digital programming and partnering with the San Francisco Public Library in its interactive Second Sundays series. “We’ve also distributed approximately 2,500 art kits to the City’s community hubs. These kits include hands-on activities that spark joy and creativity, reaching kids where they’re at,” said Charles.

Collins said having art supplies and projects is beneficial for young learners at home. “In addition, time is important to our kids, the children in BayviewHunters Point. They are used to being bused across town. Right now, having these Learning Hubs in the community is significant,” said Collins. “Then we can build, strengthen and reinforce resources within Bayview-Hunters Point, while supporting families…bridging the digital and technical divides that affect access to learning environments. We need to be demanding…reach out with constructive conversations and initiatives in dialogue with the Mayor, the Board of Education and the Board of Supervisors.”

Matt Rosen, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco chief program officer, said the nonprofit wants to provide opportunities for homeownership in Bayview-Hunters Point and across San Francisco. “We are working hard to restart our program in Bayview to help homeowners in need of serious home repairs,” said Rosen.

Rosen said Habitat will offer repair services to low-income homeowners for a small fee. “Individuals on a fixed

income, especially elderly homeowners under stress, can see their mental and physical health significantly improve because of these repairs. We’re asking you how can we strengthen our work in this neighborhood? We’re looking for partners,” said Rosen.

Susan Swig, a McEvoy Foundation for the Arts board member, said the Dogpatch-based organization wants to broaden awareness of its free educational exhibitions and events. It’s looking to partner with neighbors to engage youth with the visual arts. McEvoy Arts recently collaborated with San Francisco artist Erica Deeman and the Museum of Craft and Design to develop 100 take-home art projects for Bayview-Hunters Point children and teenagers.

Connie Shapiro is an advisory board member of Facing History and Ourselves, a Brookline, Massachusettsbased organization with a Bay Area presence that connects lessons from history to current events as a way to reduce prejudice and hate. Recently, Facing History moved to digital education.

“We have 125 teachers and also a number of principals in the San Francisco Unified School District trained through our program…over 6,000 in Northern California. They’re drawing on what they learned from our curriculum to help themselves and students stand up to offensive comments, racism, and bigotry,” said Shapiro.

Cyberbullying of children and young adults has increased during the pandemic. According to L1ght, a Palo Alto and Tel Aviv-based company that creates software that flags online

ALLIANCE continues on page 15

CLASSIFIED ADS

Bored in the House?

I’ll take your kids outside to play!

I’m a college sophomore, Division III Women’s Lacrosse player, soccer player, experienced camp counselor, and certified wilderness first responder who’s available for outdoor soccer coaching, fitness training or just playing in the park - $20 per hour per child (group rates available). Call or text me: Sara 415-872-2254

Legal Notices

The View now accepts legal notices. Please contact: production@ potreroview.net; 415.643.9578.

Subscription Salespeople Wanted

Minimum wage, intermittent work. Editor@potreroview.net

for products like instant noodles, or “junk” food. When such eating patterns become habitual, adverse physical responses can be triggered, from organ damage to hair loss. A person can be both malnourished and overweight.

Worry over food access can cause stress and anxiety. For children, these effects can linger long after the threat of hunger has passed. “Facing food insecurity is very scary,” said McKnight.

According to Reid, indoor dining restrictions shuttered soup kitchens, while food pantries, which tend to be staffed by older volunteers at greater risk for COVID-related complications, suspended operations. SF-Marin Food Bank lost about a third of its nearly 300 partners at the beginning of the pandemic. Normally, the Food Bank provides supplies to distributers, such as churches or community centers, who host food pantries or dining halls.

The nation’s first food bank was organized in Arizona in the 1960’s to reduce food waste and hunger. Food banks have historically collected unsold crops that’d otherwise be plowed under.

CAFB’s 42 members work with the State Department of Agriculture and individual farms through the Farmer to Family program, which provides fresh fruits, vegetables and other products directly from participating farmers. Roughly 60 percent of the food SFMFB distributes consists of fresh produce.

With the loss of on-the-ground distributors, SF-Marin Food Bank has ramped up its operations, providing direct service to the public.

“Instantaneously, we knew we were going to have to meet that need of those participants who had lost access to pantries as their source of food,” said McKnight. ‘We also knew that there was going to be an increase in demand above and beyond what we were already serving. So, our challenge was, how do we meet this need from start to finish as the Food Bank?”

One solution has been popup pantries, which appear six days a week at different San Francisco locations. According to McKnight, even without closure of partner agencies, the Food Bank would’ve needed to open up popups to meet increased demand. The popups differ from traditional

Muir Beach Studio and House

Walking distance to the beach, with the crashing waves visible and audible. No need to interact with anyone but your lovely selves. And we have plenty of toilet paper!

Studio: Cozy studio comfortable for two-people. Includes kitchenette and private patio with views of the crashing waves. $175/night plus cleaning fee, two-night minimum. Editor@potreroview.net or 415.643.9578.

House: Three bedrooms, two full baths, with deck with views of the crashing waves. $300/night plus cleaning fee, three-night minimum. Editor@potreroview.net or 415.643.9578.

Freelance Writers Wanted

Modest pay, interesting assignments. Contact: editor@potreroview.net

pantries, which offered a grocery store or farmer’s market-type setup, in which individuals are free to roam and handle the food.

“We don’t want that many people touching the food,” McKnight explained, “so we have transitioned into pre-bagging all the groceries.” The method has the added benefit of serving people as quickly as possible. “We like to think of it as Henry Ford comes to the food bank.”

Each popup serves close to 900 households. “Our ability to scale has been amazing to watch.”

Drive-thru pantries operate out of Lot A at Oracle Park in Mission Bay on Fridays and Stonestown Mall on Tuesdays. “Our friends at the Giants and the Port of San Francisco have been really supportive,” said McKnight.

The Oracle Park pop-ups were started in part to counteract the lack of partnering agencies in the Southof-Market, Dogpatch and Mission Bay neighborhoods. “We know that there are areas in need there, so we were really excited to open up a couple of different options in conjunction with the Giants and the Port,” McKnight said.

According to Ruth Selby, Assistant Manager of Saint Anthony’s Dining Room in the Tenderloin, which has continued to provide daily lunch throughout the pandemic, most of the raw ingredients her kitchen uses to make hot takeout meals come from the Food Bank, which helped arrange a partnership with Starbucks to donate unsold pastries and sandwiches.

SFMFB offers contactless home delivery. Volunteer drivers bring bags of groceries to participants who are older, have COVID-related risk factors, or are unable to make it to a pantry.

The Food Bank specializes in providing participants with produce and other ingredients to prepare their own meals, but not everyone is able to cleanly and safely store and cook food. With the closure of soup kitchen-like services, as well as increased lines at those that continue to operate, SFMFB has pivoted to prepared meals, and ready-to-eat items. The Tenderloin Ellis Street popup features a “minimal cooking menu” tailored for the area’s unhoused people. It includes bottles of water for people without access to public water fountains in libraries and other buildings.

NEIGHBORHOOD

Thanita Adams, Manager of Saint Anthony’s Resource Center, said that their pantry has been providing weekly groceries and emergency food boxes to 734 unique guests since the start of the pandemic. The dining room serves lunch seven days a week, between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

“If this is somebody’s one big meal of the day, we’re trying to serve them something that is nutritious and hardy and will warm the soul in these winter months,” said Selby, who noted that the meals are popular with construction workers.

Lunch for the day Selby spoke with the View was a vegetarian channa masala with rice. The day before it’d been carne asada tacos; the following day it was to be fish sticks with cheesy grits.

Guests, volunteers and staff alike lament the closing of the dining room, as it provided an important sense of community. Today, a physically distant area of tables and chairs is available outdoors for those who need to eat their food on-site. As Selby explained, this is considered a non-elective, essential, service, excluded from the municipal ban on outdoor dining.

CAFB partnered with the California Department of Social Services to provide packaged food lasting three to four days for eligible families. “It’s a Cal program,” said Reid, “but we do the execution. The State of California has been fantastic in responding to the hunger crisis and providing food to banks.

“Pre-pandemic,” McKnight said, “we needed about 12,000 volunteers a week. Now it’s more like 25,000.”

Volunteers are divided into three primary tasks: unloading and sorting donations from Farmer to Family and other donors, bagging groceries and helping with popup pantries, and delivery driving.

Warren Brown has volunteered with SFMFB since 2018, “but I’ve showed up a lot more this year,” he said, especially once the City started phasing out its Disaster Services Program, in which municipal employees whose offices were closed were paid to perform other duties. As Brown recalled, “there were a lot of library workers that were working at the Food Bank for months, but then the library workers started being able to go back to work in August and they started rolling out from the Food Bank work so more spots were available to the public.”

Brown volunteers primarily at the Illinois Street warehouse, transporting bags of carrots and potatoes from where they’ve been unloaded to tables to be packed into boxes.

“A lot of times you’re outside and

that’s kind of nice,” he said. “It’s a really great environment to work in. And it just feels nice helping people. I’m very privileged not having to worry about where my food comes from and how much it costs, but even in normal times there are a lot of people for whom that isn’t the case. If I can get my groceries and not even think about it, I should be able to help other people get some food. I’m not a medical worker, I’m not an essential worker, so I can’t help people in that way, but I can at least do this. It’s a very gratifying thing to feel like I’m able to help during the pandemic when there are so many things that I’m not able to help with. I try to recommend it to all my friends and family.”

served off-leash in the park, off-leash dogs aren’t legally allowed. Municipal regulations require areas designated for off-leash dogs to have synthetic turf. During the online meeting numerous attendees railed against artificial turf in the comment text box. One critic suggested that anyone supporting artificial turf should visit a dog park; after giving the turf a close smell they’d quickly change their mind.

“We have a choice to make for the off-leash dog area, all grass, or synthetic turf and natural grass combination,” Ward said. “Natural grass requires more closures and might have to be closed in the winter while synthetic turf can stay open year-round.”

Ward indicated that if synthetic turf was installed it’d be regularly cleaned.

David Fletcher of Fletcher Studios, a Dogpatch-based design firm working on the project, said that regardless of which plan is selected Rec-Park intends to “raise up the soil around the perimeter, creating an audio barrier” while increasing places to sit by 70 percent and enlarging the number of exercise stations. Fletcher said he hoped to “activate the peninsula,” referring to the wooded spit in the park’s center, so it’s more hospitable for work-outs and to recreate. Fletcher noted that the current trail along the park’s perimeter, used by exercisers, isn’t American Disability Act-compliant; after renovation it will be. Fletcher said that native plants would be used in landscaping but that the “diseased” sycamore trees need to be replaced.

One commentator objected to the categorization of ‘family meadow’ as describing a dog-free area, suggesting that dogs are a component of families.

ESPRIT PARK continues on next page

FOOD BANK from front page

ESPRIT PARK from front page

The issue of dogs has been a point of contention among park users. One person with whom the View spoke asserted that without the “dog constituency” which “has the ear of the Supervisor” park renovations would’ve been completed years ago.

Plan details and updates are at: https://sfrecpark.org/1136/EspritPark-Renovation-Project. Comments can be submitted to Ward: alexis. ward@sfgov.org or 628.652-6641

PUBLISHER’S VIEW from page 2

of heavy topics for a third grader,” he said, knowing that under the HarrisAbrams protocols children living on Mars spent ages five to 10 learning about history. “What do you want to know?”

“Well,” Mona looked down at scattered iPages on the floor in front of her. “Was the Masked Singer responsible for stopping the pandemonium? Is it truth that crowds of white people, led by their leader Karen, got together to virus-shout into one another’s faces? Who was the orange guy, and why did he stick out his hands funny?”

“Those are hard questions,” Robert said. “It’s true that everyone was supposed to wear a mask when they went outside…”

“Like this kind of mask,” Mona struggled to lift-up a thick rubbered full head helmet, which had to be worn outside the shock shelter.

“Uh, no, more like putting a sock over your face.” Robert pulled off one of his socks and rubbed it across his

mouth. Mona giggled.

“And we weren’t supposed to touch one another. And we only ate outside. I mean at restaurants…Oh, and we washed our hands. A lot. With alcohol. Which we also drank. A lot…”

Mona leaned over her iPages. Her tongue jutted out of her month as she concentrated on writing. “No touching. No eating inside. Alcohol in hands and tummy…” Mona shifted back to look at Robert. “Okay. This is good. One more question. What did you learn from it?”

“What did we learn?” Robert rubbed his chin. “Well, electric bikes became a thing. Some of us baked a lot of bread, or became pretty good guitarists…”

“Oh,” said Mona, her eyes brightening. “So, there was more music, which bugged people and caused the Trumpet Wars? I get extra special credit if I make connections.”

“No, no, not that.” Robert frowned. “What we learned,” he smiled, “was that it was really, really, important to be kind to one another. And to the plants and animals outside.” Robert leaned towards Mona, caught up in his now fast-coming thoughts. “That there’s a grace in quiet listening. That words, and how you say them, matter, that life is exquisitely beautiful when we, family and friends, even strangers, can be together. That the ability to smile at one another is precious…”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Mona said, writing fiercely. She paused then looked up. “Didn’t you already know this stuff?” She looked down at her iPage`. “I mean, did you think you were supposed to be mean to one another?

Robert hesitated, then said slowly. “Yes, I suppose that’s what we thought.

Which led to the Trumpian Wars…”

Mona’s eyes shined. “Perfect!” she squealed writing furiously. She looked up. “Good thing humans finally learnt that nice lesson.”

“Yes,” nodded Robert. He thought he glimpsed a spark of worry in Mona’s eyes; probably a stray pixel. “Yes, it is.”

“Thanks, Grandpa. Bye!” Mona waved.

“Bye, honey. I love you,” Robert replied.

able housing as part of our mission as well.”

A shortage of supportive housing for people exiting homelessness has created a years- long waitlist to be placed through the City’s single point of entry system.

“Many of the people can tell stories of having lived in San Francisco throughout their lives,” Aubry said of occupants in other CHP developments. “Many are African-Americans who were displaced as a result of redevelopment out in the Bayview-Hunters Point.”

CHP has provided services to thousands of formerly homeless people in San Francisco since 1990. It operates numerous sites throughout the City, collaborating with municipal agencies, such as the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, and nonprofits that serve San Francisco’s displaced population. The average length of stay for residents housed in a CHP building is 10 years, after which most find independent living situations.

content containing threats or harassment, there’s been a 70 percent increase in online hate chat amongst kids and teens.

“The Alliance provides a good exchange of information about Bayview. I live in Bayview, and I learn a great deal about what is going on in the community when I come,” said Alma Robinson, executive director of California Lawyers for the Arts (CLA), a statewide nonprofit with headquarters at Fort Mason Center that connects artists with attorneys.

According to Robinson, Alliance meetings don’t have a set agenda “except to start an open dialogue and share ideas. We talk about community issues, services and solutions to problems that may have seemed intractable.”

“It’s incredibly rewarding to feel that you are participating in helping the community gain the strength we know they have had in the past,” said Cissie Swig. “The community is gaining strength and will continue to grow going forward.”

“A lot of what we do here is to connect dots,” said Collins. “An organization like Habitat for Humanity already has an infrastructure. How can it raise awareness? How can churches and spiritual leaders learn about local artists? How can we promote partnerships and collaborations across formal and informal sectors? We’re asking what we can do to reduce housing and employment displacement and improve quality of life in Bayview-Hunters Point. It takes regular, positive conversations to bring everyone together.”

2020-2021 Recology Holiday Collection Schedule

FRIDAY CUSTOMERS ONLY:

• Both Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, fall on Fridays.

• There will be no collection service on Christmas and New Year’s days to allow Recology workers to be with their families.

• During the holidays crews will empty your bins on two Saturdays: Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.

• During these two weeks please put your bins out the Friday night before Saturday collection.

• Regular Friday service resumes Jan. 8.

Please place trees curbside the night before your collection day. Christmas trees will be collected by a dedicated truck on your regular service day.

Please remove all plastic bags, lights, decorations, tinsel, and stands. If your tree is more than 6 feet tall, it must be cut in half.

ALLIANCE from page 13

CHINA BASIN from page 3